Some 11,000 Syrians Flee

Some 11,000 Syrians Flee

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, says more than 11,000 people have fled from Syria in the last 24 hours show that the situation in the country worsened.
With the addition of a new wave of refugees, the number of registered Syrian refugees abroad are now reaching 408,000 people.

"The arrival of refugees during the last 24 hours is the biggest for some time," said UNHCR Regional Coordinator, Panos Moumtzis.

He said so in a press conference after attending the Syrian Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday (11/09/2012).

Moumtzis said, as many as 9,000 people fled to Turkey and more than 2,000 people in Jordan and Lebanon.

"This indicates a major crisis, the conflict continues," added Moumtzis.

"In Turkey, we know most of the refugees are from Aleppo or Idlib or the north. That trend is happening during this time."

Two generals defected

Aid agencies say, the destruction of homes and medical facilities in Syria is increasing.

They said more than 2.5 million people in the country, half of which are children, are homeless and are in need of assistance.

Meanwhile, the Turkish news agency Anatolia reported, as many as 26 military officers, including two generals, defected to Turkey on Thursday night (8/11/2012).

They crossed into the province of Hatay, Turkey, with their families and a number of soldiers making a total of 71 people.

They were taken to the camp Apaydin, Hatay, which is used as a place to accommodate the Syrian military officers who have defected.